Tuesday, 39 weeks +1 day

It's Tuesday evening, but I've squeaked in under the wire in getting today's post in. I'll try and get pictures scanned and up tomorrow but I had an ultrasound today and Pirate Pat is looking decidedly less Pirate-y these days. Plumper, bigger, and well, bigger is about all I could see. There is very little room inside there but Pat was happily sucking its thumb or hand. The sonographer's guess was about a 7 lb 14 oz little one so we'll see how accurate she is. She thinks he/she has a long head but not too wide (phew) and a beer gut, or a big belly anyway. She pointed out hair and eye lashes, which is really amazing. I don't think those will show up on anything that get scanned but it was pretty neat to see on the screen. Really, though, no one can tell anything until he/she is out in the breathing world. The good news is that she confirmed that Pat's locked and loaded and in a good position.

Hope everyone is keeping warm! It's chilly out there!

Challenge

My friend Phoebe issued me a challenge to post every day until Pirate Pat comes. Okay, I'll give it a shot but I can't promise terribly exciting posts. I'm officially on my first day of maternity leave from the hospital. It was terribly sad to leave last week but I have to admit that not getting up for work this morning was very, very nice. Yesterday, I got to bake and bake and bake cookies and not worry about the fact that I didn't finish until 1am!

John's not around (he's still doing that work thing -- and yes, I'm grateful) so here's my attempt at a self portrait for a 39 week belly. I'd be very happy if my next post could show the pirate extra-utero, but I'm not holding my breath.

Here's to 39 weeks!

Harry's Getting Ready

Harry the Friendly Kitty (we're renaming him from Harry the Slightly Unstable Kitty because he was very well behaved for visitors this past week) is getting himself ready to welcome Pirate Pat into the breathing world very soon. Monday will mark 38 weeks so we're rapidly approaching the end zone. In other words, Pirate Pat will walk the plank soon. Grammies and Nanas seem to be especially excited these days. Grampies and Grandpas are revving up for some drool time, too.

We're in good shape, though, thanks to you guys! We're geared up, including having the cradle set up that my brothers and I used. Nana even gave Harry a present so that he doesn't feel too left out. Clothes are washed, car seat is installed, diapers are set... I think we're ready should Pat decide to come early.

So, without further ado, here is the (almost)38 week belly. I think Pat has dropped a bit so it might not look too different than a couple weeks ago. See what you think!



Hope everyone had a happy and healthy Thanksgiving!

Early Thanksgiving

I just thought I'd take a moment and highlight some additional links we added to our blog. Our friends Kate and Wilson decided to join the 21st century (as noted by them) and create a blog for their daughter, Hannah. She's cute enough to not need any more introduction than that.

Secondly, my old pal from elementary school, Phoebe, with whom I've recently had the pleasure of reconnecting, is now linked. She has other stuff going on besides kids and babies, but if you're still watching Survivor (and there may be one or two of you out there), she has thoughts about the show whenever she can catch it (which is when she's not freezing in her bedroom with no heat or feverishly writing papers for grad school).

Finally, I added a link to Clarabella. This is a store in New York that was born of some serious dedication to a long-held dream by our friend, Erin. Erin was my college and John's first NYC roommate and a pretty neat and special gal. Her blog is linked through her website and if you're ever feeling stuck in the mud or having a day of wondering why the heck you chose your career, read Erin's blog about starting Clarabella and you may be inspired to make some changes.

I do promise a picture soon, especially because I think the Pirate is approaching a decision about walking the gangplank and joining the breathing world. In the meantime, I did want to take advantage of pregnancy hormones (even though I'm sentimental without them) and point out some of the new links both because they're fun to check out but also because I hope Pat is as lucky as we have been to meet some good pals along the way. This sample of friends starts with those who shared the bad hairdos, braces, and pegged pants of elementary school and has progressed through proms (John had a really nice dress), college graduations, and now parenthood. These guys and all the other non-bloggers out there are a great group.

Anyway, in the spirit of an early Thanksgiving, I'd thought I'd give an early thank you to friends AND family for all of the amazing support over the last 8+ months. Now, if anyone would literally like to come and support this belly for a few days, I'd be happy to hand off the Pirate for a bit...

The Countdown is On...

35 weeks of fun are behind us and it's hard to believe there are only 5 to go. I have 13 days of work left and my plan is to start my leave in early December (if the Pirate holds on tight). I'm starting to look forward to that. I really can't complain, though. It's been pretty easy going considering the extra poundage that I'm enjoying!

Happy Halloween!

Pirate Pat made his/her first Halloween appearance this past Saturday. I don't know if this will technically count as Pat's first costume, but, well I think it should. I like to think that my first trip abroad happened when I was in Pat's similar condition. Some of you may be wondering why we didn't go with a pirate themed costume, but really... if you're a pirate for 364 days a year (or something closer to 7 1/2 months for this pirate), for Halloween, you want to dress up as something different, right?

You can't, unfortunately, see John's sneakers in these pictures but I can assure you that they still make some pretty awesome, super white hightops these days. If anyone is a size 13 and looking for some new kicks, let us know and I'm sure we can work something out.

Anyway, we're going into the home stretch (or maybe we're in it). Just under six weeks to go! Things appear on track and everything is fine. We're done with our childbirth classes and I think we've read everything we're going to read about pregnancy, labor, birthing, etc. I'm not sure how much retention has occured anyway.
Lots of predicting about Pat's gender has occured but we're prepared either way with names and some neutral clothes.

I hope everyone enjoyed their Halloweens! Check out Liz/Ben's and Beth/Jacob's blogs for some pretty cute pics of lions and dragons.

Sorry...

for the delay in posting. It's been busy around here! We're in the middle of our childbirth classes, three down and three to go. They've been really helpful, I think, with a few wacky moments thrown in there. I've also made a little pair of baby pants and have a pattern for some super cute overalls that I'm hoping to find time to make in the next several weeks.

Here's a 32 week belly shot. Pat's moving around lots in there. He/she is busy and growing right on track.


In other VERY exciting news, our good friends Kate and Wilson welcomed a new member of their family into their lives last week. Hannah is a little peanut but she's adorable and a very good sleeper. Pat's super excited to meet his/her friend. The Pirate tends to kick quite a bit when he/she's visiting with Hannah.